Thought For The Day

If you don't know where you are going
How will you know when you get there?

I love this thought! I felt it would be a great thought for the day.

How many of you just let life take you? You fall into a job you didn't plan to have and after a few years it becomes your career? That's kind of what happened to me. Nearly thirty years later, I retired from a job I never dreamed of having.

Is that bad? It worked out for me, but I often wonder, if I had put more planning into where I wanted to be in life, what would life have been for me?

Right now, I retired after many years. I started a new pathway -- that of being a writer and author. This path I have taken control of. I started taking the time to write the stories bouncing in my head. I took a chance and got first one story published, then another and another until I can say I have about sixteen published stories.

I have to admit it has taken some hard work, lots of time, learning new things, taking chances, but persevering. I'm not there yet, but I hope one day I can say I made it. I know where I'm going, and I've enjoyed the ride.

Think about it. Where is your life taking you? Have you made plans, done the work, and will you know when you get there?

Take a chance - my next goal was publishing The Mountain View Café. I accomplished that goal. It's available in kindle e-book from Amazon.com.  The paperback should be released shortly. I accomplished one of my goals. What about you?

Happy Reading!

K. R. Bailey

http://KRBailey.com

Though For The Day

I love collecting thoughts. I found this one and wanted to share!

If you don't know where you are going
How will you know when you get there?

Isn't this so true? Too many of us don't have a plan and just let life lead us to where we end up. Is that all bad? No. A lot of times we end up better off than if we had planned our life. But, that isn't always the case.

Do you have a goal? Something special you want to accomplish? A favorite place you'd like to see again? I'm sure most of you do. I do. I have found that sometimes we just need to make a plan, follow the plan, and hopefully nothing comes up to way lay us and keep us from getting to where we want to be.

So, I'm recommending that you try taking over your life - at least somewhat. I'm not saying don't be flexible because with life, if we aren't flexible we will miss a lot of things along the way. But, set your sights on something wonderful that you want. Pursue it. Work towards it, and who knows, you might find you can be in charge of your own destiny.

Another of my favorite thoughts is:

If it is to be, it's up to me.

Happy Reading!

K. R. Bailey

www.KRBailey.com

Are You Moving In the Right Direction?

Where you stand is not important -- its in what direction you are moving that counts.
------Unknown

I love that thought. Too often I think people worry that they haven't accomplished their goal, they aren't where they want to be in life, or that they may not be successful. But I think this thought says it all. It doesn't matter where you are. You just have to take small steps each day and one day you'll accomplish your goal and reach your dream. Don't have any? Then take time today and set some goals, identify your dream. The small steps will add up. Believe me, they will.

If you talk to various authors, they have a goal of writing a small number of words or pages each day. They know that eventually they'll complete that story or novel. Christine Feehan says her goal is writing seven pages a day. RaeAnn Thayne strives for three short periods a day to write. They aren't all at once, but throughout her day, she tries to find small increments of time to put words on pages. They are moving in the right direction. I strive to find at least an hour each day on my computer to write and I admit alot of the time it is at midnight after my husband goes to sleep. Another thing that I find helps is to always have a notbeook with me. I am constantly playing with story ideas, developing characters, or plotting my story wherever I'm at. For me it works.

Someone on a diet knows they must lose a pound or two a week and over time it adds up to ten, twenty or more pounds lost. They know small steps lead them to success.

Isn’t it frustrating to want to buy something – a new car, a piece of furniture, even expensive jewelry and you don’t have the money. I found a long time ago, saving just a little bit each payday definitely adds up. If you’re patient, even though sometimes that’s hard to do, you’ll eventually have enough for a good down payment to lower the monthly payments or perhaps even enough to go and buy what you want outright. You just have to do it a little at a time.

You can accomplish anything if you want it bad enough. Just take little steps toward your goal and as long as you do it a piece at a time, you’ll get there eventually. Don't let disappointment or stumbling blocks cause you to slide backward.

Remember: If it is to be, it's up to me!

K. R. Bailey

http://KRBailey.com

Reach For The Sky!

Dare to dream. Dare to reach for the sky.

The first step on the road to success is to DREAM IT.

Creating goals - both business and personal - are very important.  Do you want to succeed?  Take a moment and do this.

1.  Write down your goals.  Write down what you want to achieve, both in the short-term and long-term. Get on the right track - DO THIS! I know, I hate writing down goals too, but I think it is important to identify what it is you want to achieve.

What do you want to accomplish?
When do you want to achieve this?
Will you allow others to help you?
What do you want for yourself and your family?

BE HONEST ABOUT YOUR GOALS!!!
(Taken from Choice Financial training manual)

By making a commitment to succeed, you're making a statement to yourself and others.

I remember hearing this and it struck a cord.  I'd like to share it with you.

If you want to do something bad enough
  No one can stop you.
If you don't want to do something bad enough
   No one can help you.
     -----James Owens

So true.  Here's another saying:

You can achieve anything but sometimes it comes at a cost.  ---Annie Oortman

When you say yes to something, you say no to something else.  Unknown

Make a choice to be successful.  There's still time this year to accomplish something you've wanted to do.  For me, obviously, it's finishing a book or perhaps a set of short stories.  Right now, I'll take the challenge with you and make a commitment.  Will you join me?

Happy Reading!

K. R. Bailey

www.KRBailey.com

Go For It!

I'm often asked what advice I'd give to someone. After thinking about it, I'd tell them - Go For It! Whatever you've dreamed of or wanted to achieve, the world is an open book and you are your only limitation. None of us know what tomorrow will bring so use today wisely. Take a small step toward achieving greatness.

On of my favorite sayings is:

If it is to be
It's up to me.

It's so true. No one can tell you what to do. Oh, sure, you have bosses where you work and you probably should heed what they tell you. But only you can take control of your own destiny. So do it!

I always wanted to be an author. I let a lot of years go by without doing anything about it. When I finally made up my mind to do it, I can't tell you how excited I was to get my first acceptance letter (email in my case) from an editor. Holding my first published book was a feeling I can't describe.

Remember though, I said got for it - you need to take the steps along your journey alone, and it's not always easy, but it can be very rewarding once you start to succeed.

I also didn't promise you'd get rich - no one knows if what you've wanted and strived for will bring you riches. Satisfaction, yes. A sense of self-worth, absolutely. But wealth? So many things determine whether you'll get rich.

I've accomplished my goal of being a published author and the feeling of satisfaction is great. Does that mean I'm done. Heavens no. I have more books to publish, best-selling lists to hit, and so many more goals so I'm not through. I try to do something each day to move forward.

I hope you can accomplish whatever you want to do. It's a new year. Make the decision. Take the first steps to accomplish whatever it is you've wanted and dreamed about. You can do it! So go for it!

Happy Reading!

K. R. Bailey

www.KRBailey.com

Where Did My Day Go?

It's been over a month since I last blogged, and I don't have any idea where my time has gone.  Oh, I can think of a few things we did -- a small vacation to Yellowstone with some great friends which wa super relaxing; a concert to see The Oak Ridge Boys and they were fantastic; and, of course, visits with family and a couple dinners out, but it doesn't cover the entire month.  Do you ever wonder where your days go?

A friend of mine - a great author, Cindy Christiansen - interviewed me for her blog and one of her questions was what I had learned in the writing process.  Isn't it sad that the first thing that came to mind is I let too many mundane things take over my hours and days?  That got me thinking, and once again I made a new resolution to take more advantage of my time and write.  I have alot of stories running around in my head -- I'm a writer, a published author, and I think all of us have stories that are begging to come out.  So I've made a few goals:

1.  Write something every day.  Now, I have to admit it may not be a new story, and it might be some e-mails staying in touch with my friends, developing marketing items, even blogging.  But I need to write.  Once I start writing, I want to continue and that's how I'll figure out how to finish my current story and get started on another one.

2.  Write down what I need to accomplish.  I'm a note maker.  It really helps me when I get to cross an item off my list.  So, I have a notebook by my chair in our family room, by my bed in the bedroom, and of course by my computer. Each day I'll work to cross off things from my list.

3.  Quit chastising myself when I don't get some writing done.  Yes, I tend to get disappointed in myself very easiily and the sad part is, that doesn't seem to help.  So, I refused to let myself get depressed and, instead, will keep striving to get my writing accomplished.

4.  Reward myself when I complete another goal - okay, I'll probably reward myself more than I should, but I think it is very important to pat yourself on the back when you accomplish someting you've been working on.

5.  Read.  Okay, I love to read, so this won't be a hard goal to achieve.  But I have met so many wonderful authors and have so many books on my to be read list, that I think it is very important for me to read, keeping up with what is new on the market.

6.  Write up reviews and send to my author friends.  I know I love to hear that people like my stories. I spend so much time creating characters, putting them through so many challenges, taking them on a journey to love and happiness, that it is so fulfilling when someone says to me, "I loved your story," or "I couldn't put your book down."  I want to do that for others.

I hope you are better at using your time than I am, but even if you're not, be happy, do what you love, and it will workout.  If you have other things to add to my list that seem to work for you, I'd love to hear from you.

Have a great day!

Are You Moving In The Right Direction?

Where you stand is not important -- its in what direction you are moving that counts.
------Unknown

I love that thought. Too often I think people worry that they haven't accomplished their goal, they aren't where they want to be in life, or that they may not be successful. But I think this thought says it all. It doesn't matter where you are. You just have to take small steps each day and one day you'll accomplish your goal and reach your dream. Don't have any? Then take time today and set some goals, identify your dream. The small steps will add up. Believe me, they will.

If you talk to various authors, they have a goal of writing a small number of words or pages each day. They know that eventually they'll complete that story or novel. Christine Feehan says her goal is writing seven pages a day. RaeAnn Thayne strives for three short period a day to write. They aren't all at once, but throughout her day, she tries to find small increments of time to put words on pages. They are moving in the right direction. I strive to find at least an hour each day on my computer to write and I admit alot of the time it is at midnight after my husband goes to sleep. Another thing that I find helps is to always have a notbeook with me. I am constantly playing with story ideas, developing characters, or plotting my story wherever I'm at. For me it works.

Someone on a diet knows they must lose a pound or two a week and over time it adds up to ten, twenty or more pounds lost. They know small steps lead them to success.

You can accomplish anything as long as you do it a piece at a time. Don't let disappointment or stumbling blocks cause you to slide backward.

Remember: If it is to be, it's up to me!

Live Life On Purpose

I had the opportunity to attend one of Jude Bown’s workshops, and she gave some wonderful words of wisdom. Jude is as member of our Utah Romance Writers of American Chapter and is an award winning international speaker and author. If you ever have the opportunity to attend one of her seminars, take the time to do so. You’ll be glad you did!

Even if you’re not an author, her words could help you as you strive to reach your goals and make your dreams come true. Let me just pass on some of the things that made me stop and think. They’re taken from her workshop, Live Life on Purpose.

We get what we expect in life.
Our thoughts lead to our words.
Our words lead to our beliefs.
Our beliefs lead to our actions.
Our actions lead to our results.
If our thoughts don’t change, our results won’t change.

Words like woulda, coulda, shoulda will kill you.
How many times have you said I shoulda done something, or I would have if I coulda? I know I use these excuses. They definitely keep us from accomplishing what we want, don't they?

Instead of thinking GOAL think GO ALL OUT!
I've always hated it when I'm told set goals. I don't know why but it is a turn off for me, but when I think, Go All Out, it sort of energizes me to try harder.

No matter what you are striving to accomplish, what you want to be, or what your dream is, these are some wonderful tools that could help you be what you want to be. Think about her words. Take them to heart. Hopefully they'll work for you.

Positive mental attitude is a confident, honest constructive state of mind (Napoleon Hill )

Our attitudes control our lives. (Tom Blandi)

Take control of your life. Remember, Its not about will power, its about want power!
What we focus on in our minds, we give our power to.

Check out Jude’s web site at: www.JudeBown.com

Thought for the Day

The three essential elements to happiness:
Something to work for;
Something to hope for;
Someone to love.
(unknown)

I don't know who said it, but I believe this is so true. May you always have a dream to work towards, a goal you hope to achieve, and love in your life. What more could we ask for?